


I Love Taking Risks

by orphan_account



Category: Eddsworld - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Victorian, F/M, M/M, Oh and homophobia for like three seconds, Steampunk (not really), au where matilda isn't actually that vain, but still a BIT vain, everyone is ooc, i just got this idea it's really random, i just really love matilda okay, i might make a second chapter, oh and matilda is very out of character, they go to some kind of nightclub? idk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-11
Updated: 2017-01-11
Packaged: 2018-09-16 22:33:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9292337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Matilda lives a pretty sheltered life as a lady of Victorian London until she meets three guys unlike anyone she's ever known before, and they show her a new lifestyle that she's totally okay with.I'm deciding whether this should have a second chapter or not???





	

**Author's Note:**

> Read the tags :)

My name is Matilda. I’ve lived with my only friend Ell for three years, and I make a living as a model for magazines. Ell herself works as a journalist – and makes very little money. Her boss is, of course, convinced that a woman such as herself couldn’t possibly write decent work, and whenever she comes home I have to listen to her rant about him. But thankfully I’m pretty enough to earn enough money for the two of us to live comfortably.

Ell and I… are _odd_ for women our age. We line the border between upper class aristocracy and the lower class of London. My great-great-grandmother was apparently a member of royalty, but unfortunately due to some scandal, she lost everything. Another reason we’re different is that we aren’t married, nor attached. Most women these days are married the moment it’s legal. But Ell and I have each other, and that’s all we need.

Although Ell and I have been close for years, it was only one particular day in summer when Ell answered a knock at our front door to her own twin brother Edd, whom she’d only mentioned to me once or twice. She invited him in for tea and as he entered the living room, I stood up to greet him.

As I’d experienced before, his eyes widened at the sight of my flawless ginger hair, perfect figure and stunning complexion.

‘I’m sorry, but are you Matilda, as in Matilda the model for various magazines?’ he asked, going a little red in the face.

I smiled tightly. ‘That’s me. Edward, I’m guessing?’

‘Edd, sit down,’ Ell said sternly, and I could tell she was warning him to stop gawping.

‘O-of course.’ He took a seat, and then began to smile to himself, almost laughing.

I was a little bemused. ‘May I ask what’s funny?’

He wiped his eyes. ‘I’m terribly sorry, but it was just a discussion my friends and I were having. I told them my sister lived with you, and they made me a bet – if I could meet you, they’d pay me ten pounds.’

‘I was a topic of discussion among you and your friends?’

‘Three of us. Tom and a Norwegian fellow named Tord. It just so happens that Tord’s cousin works for the photography agency you belong to. He’d caught a glimpse of you once and claimed that you were the most beautiful woman he’d ever encountered, and – if you’d forgive my forwardness – I cannot say I disagree.’

I was too sick of comments like these to disagree, so I just smiled politely before turning to Ell. ‘Did you mention tea?’

‘Edd, try to keep mentions of you and your friends under control,’ Ell said, ignoring me. ‘You know I don’t approve of them.’

Edd sighed, and I knew this was an old fight. ‘Just because you don’t _like_ them, dear, doesn’t make them bad people.’

‘I’ve seen them,’ Ell said. ‘They’re rude, they spend every night in the bar, they smoke, and-’

‘None of those things make them bad people. They’re kind.’

Ell scoffed but said no more, heading to the kitchen no doubt to make the tea.

‘I’m sorry to ask – I’m sure you have a busy schedule – but would you consider meeting my friends some time?’ Edd asked to break the uncomfortable silence.

I blinked. ‘Er… of course. Where would you like me to meet them?’

‘If you like, I could send for a cab here and you could meet us at a local tavern.’

I looked at him suspiciously. ‘A _local_ tavern? There aren’t any.’

‘Oh, well…’ He looked around nervously, making sure Ell couldn’t hear him. ‘All right, there’s no tavern. It’s an underground place that we pay the cops not to think about. But you’ll be fine there – an upstanding lady like yourself would have the full protection of both me and my two friends.’

I was about to refuse and tell him I wanted nothing to do with him or his friends, but something held me back. All my life, I’d never done anything risky or out of the ordinary. Edd seemed nice, and I was intrigued by the sound of his two friends.

‘I accept,’ I said finally. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow night, ten thirty.’

‘ _Tomorrow?!_ ’ he said, as though it was all too sudden, even for him, but at that moment, Ell returned with the tea and he could say no more on the matter.

 

*

 

The next day at exactly the right time, a carriage arrived at my doorstep. I was dressed in my finest dress, not a gown, but a light purple corset that fitted my figure nicely and ended just above the ankles. To go with the more casual look, I added a green overcoat to the look, as well as my tallest feather-adorned hat.

When I stepped inside the carriage, I was surprised to see Edward already inside. He took my hand and kissed it gently. ‘Milady,’ he said, a smile playing on his lips, and I could tell his charm wasn’t to be taken seriously.

He was a completely different man from the one I’d met the day before. This Edd was more youthful, more playful, and generally more exciting.

‘Edward,’ I said, my chin held comically high and my voice unnaturally snobbish. ‘What a delightful pleasure it is to see you again.’

We laughed and the carriage began to move. We talked along the way, although he made a definite point of not telling me anything about where we were going or who we’d be meeting.

‘Just here, please,’ Edd said to the cabbie. He helped me out of the carriage and onto the pavement. The place was cold and abandoned – I couldn’t hear a thing.

‘Was this a ploy so you can get me into the middle of nowhere and steal my purse?’ I asked him, taking a step back.

He laughed and rolled his eyes. ‘Of course not, miss. We can hardly have an illegal base in plain sight, can we?’

I coloured. ‘Of course. Well, lead the way.’

I followed him down an alleyway and then down a somewhat-hidden flight of stairs that lead to a door. He rapped on the door in a quick rhythm and a hatch slid open with a pair of eyes staring out at us. At least, I _thought_ they were eyes. Upon closer inspection, there was simply two black circles looking out.

‘Edd!’ a voice hissed upon seeing us. ‘And you must be Matilda. Come in, come in. Hurry.’

The full door slid open to reveal a man in a white shirt and waistcoat. His brown hair stood up too tall but the most fascinating thing about him was his eyes – they simply didn’t exist. All that was there was two black holes.

Once we’d stepped inside, I was taken aback by the full energy of the place. A string quartet was playing a lively tune, to which men and women were dancing to. However, not only were men dancing with women, but men were dancing with men and women were dancing with women. I expected my true Victorian morals to kick in and convince me that it was wrong, but it didn’t, and I realised I was perfectly comfortable with it.

The whole room was lit by candles that cast the place in a warm glow, and every table was crammed with men and women drinking, smoking, and playing cards. I’d never been anywhere like it, and I expected to be afraid, but I was only enthralled.

The man with no eyes – who was more of a boy, just like Edd – kissed my hand, just as Edd had done. ‘Lovely to meet you,’ he said genuinely. ‘Thomas Thompson, but please, call me Tom.’

‘Pleasure, I’m sure,’ I said, smiling uncontrollably as he released my hand.

‘I’m so glad Edd invited you,’ Tom continued, as he made his way over to an empty table and Edd and I followed. ‘We’ve been talking about you lately.’

‘And, as I remember, we had a bet?’ Edd said pointedly.

Tom sighed as he sat down and put his feet on the table. No one had ever been so… _common_ in front of me before, and I honestly didn’t mind. There was something so liberating about not being treated as a porcelain figure that could shatter at any moment.

‘All right, you bastard,’ Tom said with a grin. He fished in his pocket and withdrew ten gold coins. ‘Tord contributed half.’

Edd laughed as he took the coins and held each one up to his eye for inspection.

Tom pretended to be insulted. ‘Why on earth would you think I’d scam my best friend?’

‘Because you’ve done it every time before,’ Edd said sternly. After a moment, he seemed satisfied, so he put all ten coins into his own pocket.

While Edd was distracted, Tom gave me a wink. I giggled and put my hand over my mouth to stop myself.

‘Where’s Tord?’ Edd asked curiously.

‘Late,’ Tom said with a shrug. ‘Never tells me anything.’

‘Aw, but you love him really, don’t ya?’ Edd teased.

Tom punched him. Edd just laughed.

There was another rhythmic knock at the door and Tom raced over and peered through the hatch.

‘Finally!’ I heard him say.

Tom unlocked the door and in stepped a both handsome and mysterious man. He wore a black vest over a crumpled white shirt, with a red necktie and tall red boots. His black top hat was absurdly tall but was adorned with decorations of cogs and other mechanical items. A pair of goggles hung around his neck and he held a cigar in one hand. I’d heard of the steampunk movement, but never seen anyone as a part of it.

He entered, walking with grace that I’d never seen on a man, and when he spotted me, immediately withdrew his hat and swept into a bow at my feet. ‘Milady,’ he said in an accent I guessed to be Norwegian. He rose again and I nodded to address him. Now that he’d removed his hat, I saw his hair was a light brown and seemed to point up like the horns of the devil himself – and the gentleman’s sly grin that was just a little too sinister had me captivated.

‘This is Tord,’ Edd said. ‘He has a flair for the dramatic.’

‘I can tell,’ I said, smiling in what I hoped was a seductive manner. ‘Yet you say that like it’s a bad thing.’

Tord took a seat next to Tom and heaved his legs onto the table, shoving Tom so that he nearly fell of his chair.

‘What do you think you’re doing?’ Tom snapped.

Tord just smirked and blew a stream of smoke from his cigar in his face.

Edd and I resumed our seats at the table.

‘Where were you, Tord?’ Edd asked.

‘Oh, just… working on a project of mine,’ Tord replied mysteriously.

‘That’s a terrible answer,’ Tom sniped. ‘Where were you _really_?’

Tord turned to him. ‘You’d better stop asking questions, Thomas. I’d think you were worried about me or something.’

Tom coloured. ‘I just meant-’

‘All right, all right,’ Tord interrupted. ‘I was at work. My boss kept me overtime, and refused to pay.’

He said no more on the matter, but I think all three of us could tell he was lying.

‘Drinks?’ a voice said. We looked up to the waiter who handed the four of us a menu of cocktails that I’d never heard of.

‘Give us five minutes,’ Tom said, and the waiter wandered off.

I looked around at the three of them. They were so _young_. I was nineteen, but they looked even younger. I knew Edd was twenty, because that was the same age Ell was.

‘May I ask how old you are?’ I said.

‘I’m nineteen, Edd’s seventeen and Tord’s sixteen,’ Tom said casually.

I gaped at Tord. Sure, he was young, but not _sixteen._ I’d never seen a sixteen-year-old with such class. Then I turned to Edd. ‘I thought you and Ell were twins?’

‘We are,’ Edd said, looking blank.

‘But she’s twenty. How can you be seventeen?’

Edd laughed. ‘Ell’s not twenty! Don’t be daft.’

I felt like I’d been stabbed. Ell had lied to me about her age. Why?

‘Oh,’ Edd said, realising I wasn’t laughing. ‘Ell’s always very… sensitive about the rest of her family. Maybe she wanted a new life.’

I nodded.

Tord reached across the table for my hand. ‘Don’t be down, darling,’ he said, and I couldn’t help the smile that returned to my lips at his electric touch. ‘I’ll buy you a drink. I’ll buy you two drinks!’

‘He’s rich,’ Tom explained. ‘Absolutely loaded. He owns this whole place. And he won’t share a single cent of it with us.’

Tord ignored him. ‘What would you like?’ he asked me. ‘Pick any drink.’

I stared at the menu. All the drinks had crazy names and ingredients I’d never even heard of. I barely went near alcohol.

‘I- I’ve no idea,’ I said, shrugging. ‘What would you recommend?’

‘Hm,’ Tord pondered. ‘I’d say choose one at random. All of them are going to give you a migraine to remember in the morning.’

The three of them cheered me on as I closed my eyes and placed my finger on a random spot on the menu. I’d chosen a drink called ‘Summer Split’. Tom and Tord laughed.

‘I’d like to see that,’ Tom snickered.

Tord slapped him over the head. ‘Now, Tom, don’t be rude. Let the lady try the strongest drink on the menu if she wants.’

‘Maybe I won’t,’ I said nervously. ‘What are you having, Edd?’

‘Just a cola,’ Edd said. ‘Nothing beats it, to be honest.’

‘You’re not going to back out, are you?’ Tord asked me seriously.

‘Yeah!’ Tom added, joining in. ‘You chose the Summer Split, and Tord’s paying. Why not live a little?’

I laughed. Their enthusiasm and devil-may-care attitude was infectious. ‘All right, I’ll do it.’

They cheered loud enough for heads to turn. Tord waved over the waiter. ‘Get this girl a Summer Split.’

The waiter looked surprised. ‘Are you sure, miss?’ he asked me.

‘Absolutely!’ I said. Tom and Tord cheered again.

‘A cola for me,’ Edd said.

‘And our usuals,’ Tord said, pointing to himself and Tom.

While we waited, we picked up light conversation.

‘Have you got yourself a girl, Tord?’ I asked, making the meaning in my words obvious.

‘Ah, I’d love to, sweet-cheeks,’ he said, adopting a mournful expression. ‘Yet I’m afraid my heart belongs to another.’ He placed his hand on Tom’s and leaned into his face, smirking.

‘Piss off,’ Tom said, shoving him away but going red.

‘One day, Thomas,’ Tord said, grinning. ‘One of these days you’ll fall for me.’

‘Keep dreaming, commie.’

Tord looked back to me and shrugged. Edd and I laughed. There was nothing quite so exciting as the evening I was having.

My Summer Slice arrived. It was green, yellow and orange, and I couldn’t say more than that – I’d deliberately avoided checking what was in it.

‘Ready?’ Tord prompted.

I took a deep breath. ‘Here I go.’ I lifted the glass and took a sip.

It took all my energy not to spit it out again. The taste was electric and overwhelming, but Tom and Tord were watching me intently, so I swallowed and felt it burn my throat.

Tom and Tord positively shouted, standing up and clapping and cheering for me. I laughed. This was the best night of my life. I’d lived more in this half hour than I had in all my other years. I took another sip, and this time it wasn’t half as bad. It was strong, but so was I.

The rest of the night went by in a blur. I remember dancing with all three of them at different intervals during the night. I remember Tord persuaded Tom into a dance. I remember all three of them showering me with compliments and Edd and I kissing in the corner of the room. I remember feeling tired and drowsy and Tord having to catch me as I stumbled over. I remember being only half-conscious and they carried me outside and into a cab with Edd. I remember him taking my housekeys from my pocket and carrying me up to my room. I remember him planting one last kiss on my forehead before he crept away to avoid waking his sister. I remember falling asleep feeling as content and happy as I ever have in my life.

**Author's Note:**

> so i'm thinking of introducing Tori as Tord's secret twin (bc i just really love Tori) so there might be another chapter which explains  
> a) why ell lied  
> b) why tord is so suspicious  
> and c) if they ever end up in a relationship  
> so  
> look forward to that


End file.
